The Daily Spin, January 4
Will Woods | "In Case I Make It,"
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023. Today is day 4 of 365.
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here.
If you want to suggest an album, good news! You can do so right here!
Album: “In Case I Make It,” (2022)
Artist: Will Woods
Link:
From open to close, Will Woods knows exactly what kind of music he wants to make - the sort of folksy stuff that can resonate with a lot of people, but can also be alienating if it’s not your style of music.
Throughout this album, the production is near perfectly stylized, with the instrumentals feeling full without overflowing, prominent but not overbearing, while the vocals tune themselves finely to the track, matching tone and emotion without bleeding through.
There’s a Burnham-esque quality to some of his songs, feeling like a man in a room with a microphone and naught but that, cases like White Noise, and that’s where Woods is at his best, pared down and not trying to overdo it.
Unfortunately, he misses that mark a fair bit here - and I’ll admit that part of my dislike of this album is simply that the music isn’t really to my taste, but beyond that, it feels like the first half of the album sort of blends together in an unpleasant mish-mash of noise. The second half is far better articulated, more variant, and with it, gives the album a better sense of what it’s trying to be, a sense of direction that’s badly needed throughout the album.
This album feels more like a slapdash collection of tunes in front of a microphone at times than it does a proper musical release, particularly in the opening set, but when it hits its stride, there are a few sweet spots where it takes off.
Rating: 5.3/10
Best Tracks: Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘n’ Roll; White Noise
Worst Tracks: Big Fat Bitchie’s Blueberry Pie; You Liked This (Okay, Computer!)